In the building trades and in residential applications, pipes are used extensively as conduits for electrical conductors or as a means of fluid transfer. Each conductor or fluid normally has its own pipe as required by building codes or due to practical considerations, such as separate pipes for hot and cold water. Also mandated by building codes or practical considerations is the requirement that pipes which travel any substantial distance be secured or attached in some manner to an adjacent wall, ceiling, or other supporting structure, with separate fasteners or securing means for each pipe normally being applied at regularly spaced intervals along the length of travel, subject to the particular wall, ceiling or supporting structure's configuration. Since pipes are made in various shapes and sizes, separate and distinct fasteners must be provided for each specific shape, size, or range of sizes. For example, with electrical conduit, three types of one-half inch pipe are normally available: one-half inch thinwall, one-half inch intermediate, and one-half inch rigid. The dimension, one-half inch, refers to the inside diameter of the pipe, with the thickness of the pipe wall being varied to produce the three types. These different types of pipe are produced in a wide range of sizes, including three-quarter inch, one inch, two inches, and up, thus normally requiring a different fastener for each range of sizes and possibly even for different types within the same size range, due not only to size considerations, but to weight considerations as well.
Accommodating the many sizes and shapes of pipe available, especially on large construction jobs where a substantial amount of pipe must be run, requires that a large stock of fasteners be kept to meet the varying demands. This requires considerable storage space, considerable advance planning to insure that sufficient fasteners or hangers are readily available, and may involve a substantial amount of time lost from the job, spent instead in hunting for the correct size or shape of fastener or in waiting for deliveries to replace depleted stock. Additional problems are encountered in securing the fasteners to the wall or ceiling itself. For example, where unistrut construction is employed, a series of washers is needed before conventional fasteners can be secured to the strut. In other applications, toggle bolts, beam clamps secured to I-beams, or all-thread bolts are used as attaching means with the pipe fastener connected thereto. These applications require additional types of pipe fasteners or other securing means and add to the overall problems of supply, the sufficiency of available stock, and the need to find and install the correct fastener.